Nanomechanical measurements of polyethylene glycol hydrogels using atomic force microscopy

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based hydrogels are among the most widely used synthetic polymers for biomedical applications. Critical parameters of importance for PEG hydrogels are their mechanical properties which can be highly tuned. While properties such as elastic moduli have been measured at the bulk scale, it is often important to measure them at the micro and nanoscales. Further, non-destructive measurements of material properties can enable in situ and high-throughput monitoring for applications including modulating cellular interactions. In this research, the elastic modulus and the stiffness of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEG-DA) hydrogel matrices at the nanoscale are determined via nanoindentation using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The effect of varying parameters including monomer molecular weight, initiator concentration and rates of hydration on the mechanical strength of photopolymerized hydrogels were investigated. We present the effects of indentation parameters including loads and indent depths on such measurements. Mechanical characteristics of versatile PEG hydrogels can be adjusted based on polymer chain length and crosslinking, while completely hydrated hydrogels have mechanical properties similar to articular cartilage. A better understanding of these properties can enable tailoring hydrogel based biomaterials for various applications in scaffolds and tissue engineering.